Share any and all eclipse stories!

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This thread for those who have seen eclipses of the sun and moon to swap stories and talk about past and future events.
 
My favorite was during the last solar eclipse I saw, in August, 2017, when I saw how the sunlight filtered through the trees-- and the tree leaves acted as thousands of little pinhole cameras-- and the trees projected an image of the eclipse-crescents onto the concrete.

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My dad was always great at doing things like photographing eclipses and sunspots and bailey’s beads. I don’t have the right filters and gear for that kind of thing. But I always drag the kids out at night to come look at the lunar eclipse (which happens far more frequently).

This one was from the annular eclipse that came through in 2012.

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While not strictly an eclipse, my favorite was the 2012 transit of Venus. I have a solar filter for my backyard telescope which allowed my dad and I to watch the event. It’s pretty rare–the next one is in the 22nd century, and it happened on my dad’s birthday.

Next to that I really enjoyed the recent eclipse visible from North America. I only saw it as a partial eclipse. I would love to be able to see one during totality. Probably in 2024 unless I move across country this will be possible.
 
When eclipse-mania hit last year, I was too late going out to look for viewing glasses, and everyone was sold out. My son’s grandfather had been a welder, and he left me his welding goggles, since I also worked in construction. I did my research, and made sure I had the required safety glass level in the goggles so as not to damage my eyes. It was only a partial eclipse here in Los Angeles, but I was able to see it very well!

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midori said:
and the trees projected an image of the eclipse-crescents onto the concrete.
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I wish I could have seen that. I was on a large barren hill for that eclipse, so I could see the on-coming umbra. Was it total where you were? I recall the light taking on a strange golden color right before totality.
For future reference, you don’t need any special camera equipment for a total eclipse. This picture was taken with a normal camera at 432mm, ISO 200, f/4, 1/15 of second.

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I missed the Venus transit, but a did see a Transit of Mercury. The entire event was supposed to take five hour, but I only saw around one minute of it due the thick clouds!
 
Last summer’s eclipse was 95% here, and I got some cool pictures, similar to those posted above. But my favorite eclipse story is from the September 1997 lunar eclipse, which was not visible here, but was visible in the Middle East. As it happened, I was TDY to the U.S. Embassy in Damascus when it happened. I was billeted at the Sheraton Hotel, and their Italian restaurant moved outdoors in good weather, which we certainly had that evening. I borrowed a pair of binocs from one of my permanent party co-workers, occupied a table, and set to alternately consuming pasta and watching the progress of the eclipse. The locals didn’t have a clue until they saw me staring at the sky thru binoculars. Those who asked also got a peek, and there were many exclamations of “Allahu akbar!”, which is a lot more than just a jihadist exclamation.

D
 
August 2017 – my son and I took the day off from school and drove to Casper, Wyoming, to see the eclipse in totality.

It.

Was.

Awesome!​

As we sat on a hill with dozens of others, it gradually got cooler and cooler, many of us pulling on a sweater as totality approached.

The beautiful and gentle wisps of light around the moon at totality was awe-inspiring. To me, it didn’t look anything like the photos I’d seen. The sky wasn’t black. It was the purplish blue of dusk. And the area around the sun and moon was a paler, softer blue with the white wisps of light surrounding them.

It was so worth it.

Please God, we’ll be traveling somewhere to see the next one visible in the US in 2024.
 
Gertabelle said:
As we sat on a hill with dozens of others, it gradually got cooler and cooler, many of us pulling on a sweater as totality approached.
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Same here!
Gertabelle said:
To me, it didn’t look anything like the photos I’d seen.
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Agreed! To me it looked like it was etched out of pearl. Did the light before totality look somewhat golden? It did in western WY where I observed it.
 
Anyone planning on going the next eclipse in 2019 in south america? I was going to, but ran out of time.
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MCH1 said:
Agreed! To me it looked like it was etched out of pearl. Did the light before totality look somewhat golden? It did in western WY where I observed it.
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The light before totality had a strange tinge to it, a bit golden, a bit reddish.
 
The next 6 years of total solar eclipses:
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The 2023 eclipse is rare in that it will start and end as an annular eclipse, but will be total in the middle of the path.
 
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Saros 145, showing the how the paths gradually shift over the years.
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I think it was February in 1979 when some of my buddies and I x-country skied into the wilderness to watch the eclipse. We spent two nights camped on a ridge in about 8’ of snow. The morning of the eclipse was overcast, but we could see the shadow of the moon traversing across the valley floor below. It was pretty epic.

The ski ride down the mountain was a lot of fun too.
 
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MCH1 said:
The secret I have heard from old eclipse chasers is to make international eclipses your only real vacations.
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We don’t do “real” vacations, so that means 2024 is my next eclipse. I’m already 50 years old, so I’m probably not gonna get a whole lot more chances, unless I suddenly decide to become a world traveler. 😂
 
Your photo is lovely! I’m happy that you were able to grab a meaningful memento of it— it’s a thousand times cooler when it’s your own picture. 🙂

My oldest was in school, so I couldn’t go drive off to a place that had totality-- that would have been an 8-10 hour drive. I think my part of the world was around 80%, and I was happy the classes walked out to the park with their solar glasses to enjoy what they could. But I enjoyed being able to watch other people’s totality on tv, and pop out with my youngest to see what we could catch. 🙂

For the one that’s coming through in 2024, I should be about an hour or two away from a place where I can see totality, so I think I’ll definitely go take a field trip that day. I thought I had seen totality in New Orleans in 1984, but it looks like that was just annular. There had been a partial in 1986 that I saw in CO, and I believe another partial in 1991 that I saw in TX. ❤️ But I do remember how the light changes! I look forward to experiencing that again-- and giving my kids the experience as well. ❤️
 
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